Rules

The following are Rules for commenting here at the blog. Here are the standards used for approving comments.

1. Spam comments will not be approved. This includes links to other sites and blogs including your own. If you want to discuss a particular blog post, interact with it in the comments section here. Do not refer people to a different site to see what you or someone else has to say. Also, anonymous comments that do not include your actual name will not be posted.

2. Comments that bash churches, other Christians, or ministries will not be approved. It’s one thing to critique a church or ministry by stating general principles (rather than by name). But it’s another thing to bash it, run it down by name, or judge its motivations. This will not be tolerated.

3. Comments that attack, slander, contain gossip, make personal accusations against, or misrepresent other people or their work will not be approved. Jesus and Paul said that if you have an issue with someone or their teaching, you go to them directly with an open mind, thinking the best. Misrepresentations and misinformation abound on the Internet, and they are usually fueled by people who have never contacted the individuals whose work they are critiquing. Paul said, ”malign no one” NASB; “speak evil of no one” NKJV; “slander no one” NIV (Titus 3:2). Let us be obedient to our Lord and treat others the same way we wish to be treated.

4. Comments that are purely contentious or defamatory won’t be approved. Disagreements are allowed, and you will find many disagreements in the comments section of the various posts. But contentious comments that contain a defamatory tone will not be approved. Neither will comments where you simply repeat the same points that you’ve already made without taking seriously the responses of others to what you’ve already written. Please refrain from using foul language.

5. Comments that the blog manager doesn’t understand due to confusing content or language will not be approved. If the blog manager doesn’t understand it, there’s a good chance that others won’t either.

6. Comments that are incredibly long won’t be approved. In order to encourage discussion, no one should monopolize the conversation. Keep your comments fairly short so the conversation is encouraged not hindered. Comment once, then wait to respond to someone else’s comment. Please do not copy portions of your or someone else’s blog post.

7. Comments that are entirely off topic will not be approved. Be sure not to stray too far from the topic of the blog post. It’s easy to quickly kill a discussion by diverting everyone’s attention to your hobby horse or passionate convictions.

Thank you for following these standards, as they are meant to encourage healthy discussion among all of our readers.